SKT "Strengthening Membership Benefits"... Customer Promotions from July to September

Partner Discount → Point Accumulation and Usage Revamp
Double Points Promotion Up to 2x in Aug-Sep
Diversification of New Partners... Free Accumulation Feature Added
Preventing Small Balances... "Encouraging Full Point Usage"

[Asia Economy Reporter Cha Min-young] SK Telecom has decided to conduct additional promotions from July to September to resolve customer complaints accumulated during the large-scale overhaul of the ‘T Membership’ system. During the announcement of the shift from a discount-centered model with partner companies to a point accumulation and usage system, there were criticisms that it was for the benefit of the telecom company, leading to consumer misunderstandings.

SK Telecom announced on the 8th that it will implement various promotions to minimize customer inconvenience during the system overhaul process and expand customer benefits compared to before, ahead of launching its ‘Marketing Platform Service’ in August.

First, to minimize customer inconvenience during the transition from discounts to a point-based system, a ‘Pre-accumulation Event’ will be held in July. Customers who participate before the event will be given 1,000 points by default, and up to 50,000 points will be awarded through a lottery. Through the Pre-accumulation Event, customers can experience not only point accumulation but also usage from their first use, helping them adapt. When the membership overhaul approaches in August, 1,000 points will also be provided.

Various promotions will be offered to enhance perceived customer benefits. During the launch period in August and September, promotions will operate weekly, offering double the existing accumulation rates. In August, customers using the membership can accumulate membership points at double the usual rate at 14 partner companies most preferred by members, including ‘Paris Baguette 20%’, ‘Domino’s Pizza 50%’, ‘Tous Les Jours 30%’, ‘VIPS 40%’, ‘CU 20%’, ‘Lotte World 60%’, ‘7-Eleven 20%’, ‘Btv 40%’, ‘Yanolja 8%’, ‘11st 11%’, and ‘One Store 20%’.

From September, events allowing customers to use their points with benefits up to 10 times will also be planned. Promotions will include purchasing products at partner stores for 130% of the point amount and events offering up to 10 times the benefits of held points. Such high accumulation and usage promotions will be regularized and operated monthly.

New partner companies have also been significantly expanded. In addition to the premium caf? ‘Paul Bassett’, which has recently gained popularity among many customers, the representative brand in the pet category, ‘About Pet’, which was previously unavailable in the membership, will be introduced. Partner companies handling diverse subscription products in areas such as Food & Beverage (F&B), beauty, and flowers will also join, keeping pace with the non-face-to-face consumption culture.

For customers who do not consume much, free point accumulation will also become possible. After the membership overhaul, various missions provided in the membership app, such as roulette, attendance check, and watching advertisements, will allow customers to accumulate points for free without purchasing products or services. This ability to accumulate points without purchasing products or services was difficult to provide under the previous discount system.

The newly revamped membership points can be ‘gifted’ up to 100,000 points at a time to family, friends, and others. SK Telecom is also negotiating services such as the ‘Integrated Barcode’ that allows simultaneous accumulation of partner points with the membership barcode.

SK Telecom also refuted suspicions that the telecom company benefits from unused points. SK Telecom plans to operate with ‘non-expiring points’ to prevent leftover points from unused points. The point validity period is five years, and even when the validity period expires, the company plans to provide customers with various options to use points so that points do not expire. Additionally, based on artificial intelligence (AI), it will analyze regions frequently visited by customers and benefits frequently used to provide personalized recommendation services tailored to individual preferences.

An SK Telecom official said, “This T Membership overhaul was planned to provide more benefits according to customers’ changed lifestyles in the COVID-19 era,” adding, “Even customers with low consumption can accumulate points through various activities, and we plan to operate with significant expansion without sparing costs by supporting services that enable reasonable consumption through expanded membership partners.”

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.